Grid Pulse Media

All guides

How to Set Up Facebook and Instagram for Your Business

About 45 minutes

A business Facebook Page and an Instagram professional account give customers a place to see that you are open and real. Set up right, they match your Google profile and your website, and you can post to both from one place. This takes about 45 minutes.

You need: your master copy of business details (name, address or service area, phone, hours, website), your logo or a clear photo, and a few real photos of your work or place. If you do not have a master copy, see Make Your Name, Address and Phone Number Match Everywhere.

Menus on these apps change often. The steps below name what to look for, so if a label is a little different on your screen, pick the closest match.

Part 1. Create your Facebook Page

A Page is for the business. It is separate from your personal profile, though you create it from your personal account.

  1. Sign in to your personal Facebook account on a computer.
  2. Go to facebook.com/pages/create.
  3. Enter your Page name. Use your real business name, the way it appears on your sign and your Google profile.
  4. Choose a Category. Pick the most specific one that fits what you do.
  5. Write a short Bio that says what you do and who you serve, in plain words.
  6. Create the Page.

Fill it in

Do these right away, because an empty Page looks abandoned:

  1. Profile photo. A square logo or a clear photo. Use a large image, since it gets cropped small.
  2. Cover photo. A wide photo of your place or your work. Keep important parts away from the edges, because phones crop them.
  3. Username. Claim a short handle, and use the same one on Instagram if it is free.
  4. Contact details. Add your phone number, email, website and address or service area. Add your hours.
  5. Action button. Add the one that matches how customers reach you, such as Call, Message or Book.
  6. A second admin. Add a trusted person as an admin so you are not locked out if something happens to your login.

Use the address and hours from your master copy. If you work at customers' locations and have no storefront, list your service area instead of a street address.

Part 2. Switch Instagram to a professional account

A professional account gives you contact buttons and numbers about your posts. It is free.

  1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.
  2. Open the menu and go to Settings.
  3. Look for the option to switch to a professional account. Look under Account type and tools. The label has moved around over time.
  4. Choose Business (not Creator) and pick the category that best describes you.
  5. Add your contact details: phone, email and address if people visit you.

If you do not have an Instagram account yet, create one first with your business email, then follow these steps.

Fill in your profile

  1. Name and username. Your name should match your business name. Use the same username as your Facebook Page if you can.
  2. Photo. Your logo or a clear photo.
  3. Bio. One or two lines on what you do and where.
  4. Link. Put your website or your booking page in the link field. This is where "link in bio" sends people, so it should go somewhere useful.
  5. Contact buttons. Make sure the call and email buttons show.

Part 3. Connect the two

Connecting lets you manage both in one place and post to both. On Instagram, open Edit profile and look for Page under your public business information, then choose to connect your Facebook Page. You will need to be an admin of the Page, and you will be if you made it. Meta also lets you manage both in Meta Business Suite.

If Instagram connects to a different Facebook account than you intended, sign out of the Facebook account on your phone and try again.

Part 4. Make the details match

This part is what keeps customers from showing up to a locked door. Compare your Facebook Page, your Instagram profile, your Google profile and your website. All of these should match your master copy:

  • Business name
  • Phone number
  • Address or service area
  • Hours, including holiday changes
  • Website link

If you change something later, change all of them the same day. For holidays, see Check Your Hours Before the Holidays.

Check your work

  • Open your Page and your Instagram profile on your phone. Do both look finished?
  • Do the name, phone, address and hours match your Google profile?
  • Does the link in your Instagram bio go to your website or booking page?
  • Can you tap the call button or send a message and have it reach you?
  • Is there a second person who can sign in as an admin?

Next

Once the accounts are set up, you need something to post. See A 90 Day Posting Plan You Can Copy, and for a pace you can keep, How Often Should a Small Business Post on Social Media?.

If you would rather hand this off

We set up and post to Facebook and Instagram for clients as part of the monthly plan, and reply to comments in the business's own voice. See Instagram and Facebook Posting, or get started.